28 Gun Nice Boy
Well-known member
In the hope of kicking off an Ego Trip type set list of grime lists...
Here's my top ten Grime MCs of all time (well, erm since 2002 at least):
1. Dizzee Rascal - at his best, his sense of rhythm and rhyme is just poetry (see 'Stop Dat' & 'Vexed')
2. Wiley - I love that stream of consicousness thing he does (see 'Crash Bandicoot' & '16 Bar Rally') and he is the best war MC (see 'Pump Up, Tone Up'). One thing alot of people don't pick up on about him though is his sense of humour, he can be funny (see 'Goin' Mad' & 'Pies').
3. Trim - I was beginning to doubt all the hype about Trim; there wasn't actually a lot of recorded evidence for the high esteem so many people seemed to hold him in. Then the two Soul Food volumes came out and a think they've sealed his place in the pantheon.
4. Tinchy Stryder - Under appreciated in my opinion. It's the flow and the voice, and I love that finger pointing thing he does when he MCs.
5. Skepta - I love MCs with the hypnotic type flows, it's all about the rhythm and sound of the MCing. To me that's what grime MCing is about and which I think some people don't get: it's not about flows in the traditional New York hip hop sense, a good grime MC can make you move to the flow and structure of the rhythm of his voice. Skepta's got that - 'with every compliment my head inflates...', you have to hear it to get it, the words themselves mean nothing. See Frisco's 'Fully Grown' for an example of his knack with hooks.
6. JME - His voice might not be the strongest but he gets by on his personality, wit and variation of themes. His LPs in 2006 made you think you knew him. The opening bars on 'Don't Chat' can still send a shiver through me.
7. D Double E - I think D Double can be lazy and sound a bit rubbish some times but when he does it right, when he does that weird speaking in tongues type thing, he is up there with the best and like Skepta he can create a great hook (see Dizzee's 'Give U More' and his own 'Anger Management').
8. Remedy (of Essentials) - I miss Essentials and Remedy was the best MC in the group. His voice was distinctive, it had that strained quality, like he was really going for it.
9. Footsie - Like D Double he is a bit inconsistent and his lyrics are limited but his flow can exemplfy the hypnotic quality that grime MCs have. 'Showerman', 'Bare Right Hooks' just wormed there way into my head for months and his clash with Scratchy in 'Lord of The Mics' is a classic.
10. Durty Goodz - Technically, the best MC in grime, better than Kano even, his flow is amazing but I don't always find him that engaging as a personality. When he is on it though, he is fire. He has the potential to move up in my estimation.
I know lists are a bit of an anal pre-occupation but I see it as a way of stimulating a bit of analytical appreciation of grime musicand it's legacy so far. I still think it's been the best, most exciting music of the decade so far. So much great music that I'm still digesting.
Here's my top ten Grime MCs of all time (well, erm since 2002 at least):
1. Dizzee Rascal - at his best, his sense of rhythm and rhyme is just poetry (see 'Stop Dat' & 'Vexed')
2. Wiley - I love that stream of consicousness thing he does (see 'Crash Bandicoot' & '16 Bar Rally') and he is the best war MC (see 'Pump Up, Tone Up'). One thing alot of people don't pick up on about him though is his sense of humour, he can be funny (see 'Goin' Mad' & 'Pies').
3. Trim - I was beginning to doubt all the hype about Trim; there wasn't actually a lot of recorded evidence for the high esteem so many people seemed to hold him in. Then the two Soul Food volumes came out and a think they've sealed his place in the pantheon.
4. Tinchy Stryder - Under appreciated in my opinion. It's the flow and the voice, and I love that finger pointing thing he does when he MCs.
5. Skepta - I love MCs with the hypnotic type flows, it's all about the rhythm and sound of the MCing. To me that's what grime MCing is about and which I think some people don't get: it's not about flows in the traditional New York hip hop sense, a good grime MC can make you move to the flow and structure of the rhythm of his voice. Skepta's got that - 'with every compliment my head inflates...', you have to hear it to get it, the words themselves mean nothing. See Frisco's 'Fully Grown' for an example of his knack with hooks.
6. JME - His voice might not be the strongest but he gets by on his personality, wit and variation of themes. His LPs in 2006 made you think you knew him. The opening bars on 'Don't Chat' can still send a shiver through me.
7. D Double E - I think D Double can be lazy and sound a bit rubbish some times but when he does it right, when he does that weird speaking in tongues type thing, he is up there with the best and like Skepta he can create a great hook (see Dizzee's 'Give U More' and his own 'Anger Management').
8. Remedy (of Essentials) - I miss Essentials and Remedy was the best MC in the group. His voice was distinctive, it had that strained quality, like he was really going for it.
9. Footsie - Like D Double he is a bit inconsistent and his lyrics are limited but his flow can exemplfy the hypnotic quality that grime MCs have. 'Showerman', 'Bare Right Hooks' just wormed there way into my head for months and his clash with Scratchy in 'Lord of The Mics' is a classic.
10. Durty Goodz - Technically, the best MC in grime, better than Kano even, his flow is amazing but I don't always find him that engaging as a personality. When he is on it though, he is fire. He has the potential to move up in my estimation.
I know lists are a bit of an anal pre-occupation but I see it as a way of stimulating a bit of analytical appreciation of grime musicand it's legacy so far. I still think it's been the best, most exciting music of the decade so far. So much great music that I'm still digesting.